Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey readmitted to hospital

Posted 23 February 2016 - 10:47

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Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey has been admitted to hospital for a third time since contracting Ebola in 2014.

Pauline Cafferkey. Picture Credit: Reuters

Doctors at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, confirmed today they are treating the nurse.

A statement from the hospital reads: ‘Under routine monitoring by the infectious diseases unit Pauline Cafferkey has been admitted to hospital for further investigations.’

Ms Cafferkey contracted Ebola while volunteering at a children's centre in Sierra Leone in December 2014 during the outbreak of the disease in West Africa.

She became ill after returning to her home in Glasgow and spent a month in isolation at the Royal Free Hospital in London before being discharged.

It was thought she had made a full recovery, but she was re-admitted to the Royal Free in October last year where doctors revealed traces of the disease had remained in her system and caused meningitis.

During this time about 65 people – including friends, family and fellow healthcare workers – who had come into contact with the nurse were identified and 26 were offered a trial vaccine against Ebola.

At one stage she was described as ‘critically ill’ before being discharged a month later and continuing her recovery in Glasgow.

The hospital says it will protect her confidentiality by not posting regular updates on her condition.